Deceleration systems for aircrafts and watercrafts currently rely on either a conventional parachute that is large enough to decrease the speed of the conveyance to a level that is compatible with survival upon impact; or on airbags that cushion the aircraft or watercraft upon collision.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,325 teaches a novel design of an external safety bag for a variety of conveyances. Sensing unit senses obstacles and, when a potential collision is detected, safety bags are deployed automatically, or manually.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,996,936, 6,814,019, 6,612,256, and 4,817,555 teach emergency systems for flotation intended as safety means actuated after the collision occurred to watercrafts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,017 describes a detachable passenger escape cabin in an aircraft with air bags and a conventional parachute with an opening at the vertex of the canopy of the parachute. This design is likely to create uncontrollably rapid and unwarranted deceleration that may cause injuries and possibly death of passengers. In addition, since the escape cabin separates from the remainder of the aircraft, navigation of the aircraft may be difficult. The external airbags described are conventional one-layered airbags made of thick waterproof fabric with uncontrollable resistance to the impact.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,293 describes an emergency landing auxiliary apparatus of an aircraft using a double structure parachute, one on top of the other. U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,227 describes a flight apparatus with a navigation system, parachutes and air bags triggered by radar prior to impact. For flotation, watertight units are taught as well as floodable chambers to stabilizer the unit on the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,334 describes an aircraft using parachutes that slow descent to the earth. A detachable passenger module has watertight airbags and side mounted fins, as well as a motor for water landing and a position signal emitter.
Conventional air bag systems that are currently used for motor vehicles, generally include an inflatable folded air bag, collision sensors that sense the collision of the vehicle, and generate collision sensing signals. An electronic control unit receives the collision signal and directs the operation of the airbag by signaling the inflator to inject gas or air into the folded air bag. The air bag is then deployed and inflates to the exterior of the vehicle. An externally mounted air bag arrangement is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,265. The air bag is housed in a bumper-like chamber that is activated automatically after impact, and relies upon the cushioning effect of the inflated air bag. However, once the air bag is inflated, it begins to deflate and provides little protection from secondary impacts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,463 describes a shock absorber such as rubber cell with a compression spring that deflates upon impact and acts as a cushion. U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,336 describes an air bag with internal shock absorber. The air bag is mounted on the front or rear of the vehicle. The external air bag assembly is located in a cavity in the bumper of the vehicle, and includes a deployable shock-absorbing bumper assembly within the air bag that expands forward and provides additional shock absorbing region. The system is activated manually by the occupants of the vehicle or automatically. External air bags have been also proposed that are triggered before impact by a variety of sensors such as radar, or sonar. U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,556 teaches an exterior air bag system that provides protection by an exteriorly mounted sensor that, upon impact, triggers the deployment of the air bag. The air bag is located on the bottom side of the vehicle and extends laterally inwardly from a lateral side periphery.
All these structures are activated as the result of a collision, and do not detect a pre-collision situation.
An external air bag system is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,038, which teaches a system for collision damage reduction triggered by sensors prior to impact. The system reduces contact velocities between a vehicle and an object by use of air bags on the exterior of the vehicle. In a detailed analysis of the physics of the exterior air bags, it was found that compression of the air bags slows a vehicle at a fast and exponential rate. Rates of deceleration exceeding 18 g's are not tolerated by humans due to its effect on the compression of vital organs, such as the brain, of the occupants of the vehicle, which may result in injuries and possibly death. In order to overcome the problem, pressure relief valves are used to expel gas when the compression is under way to retain the car deceleration under 18 g's. Weakly sewn pieces of fabric (0.4 and 0.3 square foot patch) act as relief valves at pressures of 30 and 40 psig. A major drawback of the design is that it may take as long as 200 milliseconds to fully inflate the airbags for an average vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,909 envisions an external air bag stored within the side door to be deployed prior to impact to cushion the vehicles. However, no detailed description of the configuration of the external air bag, or the rate of deceleration, has been provided. The '909 patent addresses pattern recognition techniques and assessment of the probable severity of a pending impact by utilizing ultrasound, electromagnetic waves system, and infrared electromagnetic waves.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,218 describes an externally deployed air bags system, including side air bags and external air bags at the front as well as the rear of the vehicle, to cushion a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,057 teaches a system for vehicular monitoring using image processing. The monitoring system is described for the environment interior and exterior of the vehicle. The information thus obtained is utilized to control the inflation of air bags and other systems in the vehicle. A pattern recognition system enables the controlled inflation of the air bags prior and during collision. The monitoring system also assesses passenger position during impact and minimizes collision damage. Cameras are placed in surrounding relationship to the vehicle in order to view the interior as well as the exterior of the vehicle. In contrast to the current invention, prior art cameras are not activated by the air bag triggering mechanism, but rather are used to initiate the deployment of air bags.
Existing inflatable safety devices fail to provide for a parachute structure for deceleration and buoyancy, which would have air spaces (or openings) with adjustable expansion to allow for steering during descent as well as for controlled deceleration of the vehicle in collision. In addition, the existing inflatable safety devices are not inflated by helium or another light gas, nor do they use rapid sequence film cameras to document the events surrounding the collision. Prior art fails to teach the triggering of the cameras by imminent air bag deployment.